Rising Tensions on Westfield State President's Spending

Submitted by Scott Jaschik on October 7, 2013 - 3:00am

Tensions surrounding the spending by Westfield State University's president have escalated over the past few days.

Evan Dobelle, president of Westfield State, is currently facing scrutiny from state officials over his widespread foreign and domestic travel, and other expenses -- sometimes without appropriate documentation. On Thursday, he missed a deadline from state officials for a full documentation of his expenses, saying he needed a little more time. Richard Freeland, the commissioner of higher education, responded on Friday by immediately suspending $197,000 in state grants to Westfield State, and seeking authorization to suspend $2 million for a science building, The Boston Globe[1] reported.

Then on Saturday, Dobelle issued a letter accusing his board of violating state law and its bylaws in the way it has investigated his spending, The Republican[2] reported. A spokesman said that Dobelle wants to "protect the integrity of the university against witch hunts like this in the future." The board is scheduled to hold a special meeting this month to discuss Dobelle's spending, which has included travel to trips to Thailand, Vienna, London and San Francisco.